Original Recipe: Hot Buttered Holiday

Hiram Walker recently sent out to a bunch of drink writers and other industry types a package of three mystery products. The goal: Make a cocktail out of whatever you get, and see which one gets the most “likes” on the company’s Facebook page.

This turned out to be tougher than I thought. I received a bottle of Wiser’s Spiced Vanilla Whiskey, a bottle of triple sec, and a bottle of pumpkin spice flavored liqueur. What did I come up with? This festive, Thanksgiving-esque hot cocktail, adapted from my favorite hot buttered rum recipe. Not very seasonally appropriate, but what the heck else am I supposed to do with pumpkin liqueur???

In a bowl, cream together the butter, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt. Refrigerate until almost firm. For each drink, spoon about 2 tablespoons of the butter mixture into a small mug. Pour the whiskey, pumpkin liqueur, and triple sec into the mug. Top with boiling water to fill the remainder of the mug, stir well, and serve immediately. Garnish with a cinnamon stick and a shake of ground nutmeg.